


Past the Mission

by callasyndra



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Drug Use, Intersex Character, Multi, Prostitution, Underage Prostitution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-12 22:22:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5682997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callasyndra/pseuds/callasyndra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy Mustang keeps his promise to get the golden brothers who have no memory of their previous lives out of the brothel they're currently living at.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Halfway-Decent](https://archiveofourown.org/works/397023) by [Tierfal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tierfal/pseuds/Tierfal). 



> Okay so it's Winter and the depression has hit and for some reason...I kept going back to Tierfal's story Half-way Decent. I wanted to know the rest of the story. What happens to Ed and Al? Is Roy able to get them out of the brothel? So the long and short of it is...I'm writing the sequel. Please don't hate me because I'm not as good at fan fic as Tierfal is and I do this with the utmost respect for her writing. But I really wanted to hear the rest of the story so...here goes nothing.
> 
> In keeping with the original AU Ed and Al do not remember anything about their past. Roy also has an automail leg as he attempted to bring Maes back via human transmutation when he was killed in battle. Please mind the tags/warnings as they will be updated as the writing flows. No idea on how often updates will happen or how long this sucker will be. Enjoy?

Roy Mustang lay in his bed staring at the ceiling.  The two golden brothers at the brothel were all he could think about and since it was going on 2 am it seemed as if sleep was not to be had tonight.  While his body stayed in a state of half-arousal Roy’s mind was plagued with thoughts of how to get those two out of the brothel.  Ed’s words kept repeating through his head: “ _Most of the girls are really nice and they don’t know anything else….I don’t know anything else.”_

          There must be a way to get the brothers out and any other unwilling sex workers out of the brothel without endangering any of them.  Frustrated, Roy ran his hands into his hair, pulling it slightly.  _What would Maes have done?_

          Slowly Roy let go of the grip on his hair and thought about that again.  Maes would have gone through the records in Intelligence to see if his branch had ever worked with local law enforcement in regards to the brothels before.  If there was an established precedent then perhaps it wouldn’t be as difficult as Roy thought to get some kind of investigation going.

          Glancing over at his clock showed it was 2:30 now and with some sort of resolution in mind Roy felt his body finally relaxing.  7:30 was going to come awfully early, but five hours of sleep was much better than none.  Roy gave into his body’s need for sleep with a last thought for Maes.  _“Thank you, as always.”_

~*~

          Seated behind his desk Roy looked contemplatively at the amount of paperwork he’d completed before reaching for the telephone.  The larger than normal pile should grant him a brief reprieve before Riza’s fingers would twitch toward her pistol.  Glancing through his contacts Roy dialed the number to reach the extension at Lieutenant Sheska’s desk.

          After Maes’ death Sheska had become a source of comfort for Gracia as well as a friend for Roy to have drinks with and reminisce with about Maes.  A warm smile came over his face as the young woman answered the phone.

          “Hello Sheska, it’s been a while.”

          “It certainly has and Gracia told me to tell you you’re to call her and come over for dinner because it’s been far too long since you’ve seen Elysia.  How is the promotion treating you, Colonel?”

          “Very well, thank you.  But it has raised certain concerns.  I was treated to a visit at a certain brothel as a congratulations of sorts and noticed there were some underage individuals working there.  Do you happen to know if there are any files showing that Investigations worked with the local law enforcement to get underage sex workers out of the brothels?”

          There was a pause as Sheska went through all the information in her photographic memory before she took an excited breath.  “There were!  I even remember where they are because it was something Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was working on getting together to present before…”

          Gently, Roy said “Before he died.  That sounds like something Maes would have put on the front burner to have looked into.  Could you perhaps pull those files and see what procedures were used at the time?  I have a feeling if one brothel is doing this there are probably others in the city as well.”

          “Yes of course, Colonel.  I’ll call you as soon as I’ve had a chance to look them over.”

          Roy sighed.  “I’ve asked you to call me Roy when we’re not around other personnel, Sheska.  It’s pleasant to be able to have friends call me by my first name and I have so few.”

          “Very well.  Why don’t we just plan on meeting tonight at the normal place and I’ll tell you what I find, Roy?”

          “Thank you, Sheska.  I think this investigation is something Maes would approve of.”

          Sheska smiled softly.  “I think so, too.  Don’t forget to call Gracia.”

          Roy hung up the receiver and glanced up to see Riza staring pointedly at him.  Smiling sheepishly he grabbed another of the pieces of paperwork in his to do pile.  Once he and Sheska had discussed what had previously been done they’d have a better idea of how to approach the new investigation.  And if they got a good strategy tonight then he’d present it to his team tomorrow.  Getting those brothers out of that brothel without hurting any of the other sex workers was a promise Roy had every intention of keeping.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some info. for easy reading - the venue for this is changing from East City in Halfway-Decent to Central for plot convenience. Also, Maes died approximately 18 months ago and the Elrics have been at the brothel for a little over a year now. Ed is 15 and Al is 14 currently, so when they were kidnapped and brought to the brothel they were 14 and 13. Also, the age of majority is 17 in this AU, not 18. And the age of sexual consent is 16. This story will be frankly discussing underage prostitution, so if that's not your cup of tea you might want to skip it.

  

          Gracia had been the one to make the suggestion that Sheska and Roy might want to spend more time together after Maes’ death.  They had met several times at Gracia’s and had coffee after lunch, talking for some time afterward about Maes.  A few of those times Gracia sat with them listening to tales of her late husband with a small smile.  Elysia required more of her time than before since the child was also grieving and confused, and Gracia had gently suggested finding a new venue for their chats.

          Roy had asked Riza to help him come up with a location which would be appropriate for taking a younger woman who he had no romantic interest in to reminisce about a deceased friend.  Riza had blinked at him like he was an idiot before pointing out he already knew the perfect place.  His Aunt Chris’ place was professional and she allowed no shenanigans.  There was the added bonus of being able to use the back bar which was normally for employees only, but Chris Mustang made exceptions for her adopted nephew.

          Riza had gone along with them the first time they’d gone to Madame Christmas’ brothel as Sheska had turned an uncomfortable color at the idea until Riza mentioned she’d be there as well.  Chris Mustang had made a very short entrance upon their arrival, but had left them to themselves for most of that first visit.  Once Sheska had gotten used to the brusque Madame she’d visited with them more often during their meetings.

          Tonight Roy had called ahead to let the employees know he and Sheska would need some privacy during their talk.  Julia had chuckled a bit before assuring him they’d have privacy if it was needed.  “But you know if it’s something important the Madame will have us working on it before the night’s out,” had been her impish response before hanging up the phone.

~*~

          Having a photographic memory made it easy for Sheska to have knowledge readily available whereas anyone else would have needed to sneak files out of the military base.  The young woman had a determined look on her face as she approached the table Roy was already sitting at. 

          “The good news is there was a joint investigation several years ago in which the local law enforcement and the military worked together to clear out underage sex workers from the brothels in Central.  The bad news is Maes was getting ready to persuade the police to go into another joint operation when he was killed.”

          Upon noticing Sheska’s arrival Julia had come over with their regular drinks.  She placed them onto the table with a warm grin at Sheska who was taking her jacket off.

          Roy pursed his lips.  “So it seems Maes was already aware of this problem.  But no one in Investigations took it upon themselves to follow up after his death?”

          Sheska took a sip of the long island ice tea in front of her before shaking her head.  “Maes’ death really shook up the office.  And I’m not sure he’d gotten far in his personal investigation – it seems as if he hadn’t presented it formally.”

          Roy took a sip of his own scotch as Julia passed by with two glasses of water for them and some peanuts to munch on.  He sent her an amused glance as she winked back at him before moving on to another part of the building. 

          “Would you mind telling me how the previous investigation was conducted?  It might help to have some collateral in putting together a new one.”

          It took quite awhile, but Sheska patiently laid out how the Central wide investigation of brothels had been conducted.  Another sex worker had voiced concerns to a prominent military customer (who just happened to be a general) of hers that she was noticing more underage kids being brought into the business.  The general had voiced concerns to the police who had gone to each brothel and requested copies of the paperwork on all their sex workers.  According to Amestrian law each sex worker needed to be filed by brothel until such time as they quit.  The general then asked Investigations to conduct an anonymous survey of military personnel on the subject of if they had noticed any sex workers who seemed too young, a physical description of the sex worker, when they had noticed them, and at which establishment.  It had been relatively easy to get the information from the military personnel when word was passed that no one would be asked to give private information and the results were being used to end underage prostitution.

          Once the survey was completed by Investigations the results were compared with the official files from the brothels.  There were enough differences in the information from several brothels that a simultaneous raid was conducted on 6 different brothels.  Several teams comprised of both military personnel and civilian law enforcement were sent to the brothels.  The raid resulted in 30 underage prostitutes being freed from the brothels which were holding them.  Of those 30, 15 were found to have been taken off the streets whereas the other 15 were taken back to their homes.  After some rehabilitation the fifteen children who had no home to go to were offered the chance for school and entrance into the military if they so chose.

          Madame Christmas had drifted over at some point while Sheska was relating all the information.  There was a troubled expression on her face as Sheska finished.  “Is that what you wanted the privacy for?  I can have my people do some checking around, but after that raid fifteen years ago the brothels have been very careful not to engage in anything illegal.  Those brothels you mentioned were heavily fined and as a result many of their prostitutes sought other employment.”

          Sheska shifted restlessly in her seat before looking between Roy and his aunt.  Apparently the Colonel hadn’t mentioned any of this to his adopted mother and she wasn’t sure if she should say anything else until he’d said something.

          Roy’s fingers tightened on his shot glass before he turned to face Chris.  “I know that at least one brothel is keeping underage sex workers, Aunt Chris.  And I was asked by one of them not to commit an act of arson to get them out of there.  So I’m trying to find a way to get all underage prostitutes in Central out of the business.  And it seems that might be easier than I thought based on the information Sheska provided.  Would you like to conduct an investigation of your own?”

          The Madame took a healthy drag off her cigarette.  “Damn right I will.  You know how I feel about that kind of thing, Roy boy.  Kids belong with their parents or other family members.  When they turn 17 then they can decide to work in the business, but before then they need to be at home.  I won’t have that going on in my town again,” she finished with a frown.

          As Madame Christmas motioned Sebastian over to inform him a new investigation would be conducted starting that evening, Roy and Sheska discussed how best to approach the police.  Sheska was currently in Investigations whereas Roy wasn’t, so it made more sense for her to approach the locals.  It also helped that she could bring the military files from the previous joint operation to present, if necessary.  Roy would be briefing his own people on the details in the morning.  While Investigations would officially be running the survey of military personnel Roy’s team would be helping as well. 

          Sheska stood and smiled warmly at Madame Christmas.  “Thank you as always for your hospitality.”

          The Madame smile broadly before pulling Sheska into a hug.  “None of that now.  You’ve practically become family Sheska.  And Bernard will walk you home so I don’t have to worry about anything happening to you between here and your apartment.”

          Sheska held onto the hug a bit longer than she normally would before turning to say goodbye to Roy.  Bernard made sure another guard was available to watch his vacated position before walking out into the evening with Sheska.

          Chris looked around and motioned for the other employees to give them some space before she pulled out Sheska’s vacated chair and sat down in it.  Sebastian walked past to bring the Madame a highball of the same scotch Roy was drinking and a glass of water before vacating the area.

          Contemplatively Chris picked up her scotch and glanced over at Roy.  “So.  Are you ready to talk about what’s bothering you?”

          Roy sat silently for quite some time.  His shoulders had become hunched and Chris wondered if she needed to push a bit more before he ground out, “You know how I was able to talk to them.  You know how I was asked not to burn the place down.  Do you think I feel good about having had sex with children?”

          Idly Chris ran her fingers along her glass of water.  “I would imagine you’re horrified and feel guilty as hell.  And I know you well enough to know you didn’t ask for them specifically.  Was it a gift for your promotion?”

          Roy nodded, still looking down at the table and not meeting her eyes.  Chris sighed gently.  “It’s not your fault they’re prostitutes, Roy.  You know that.  And right now you’re their best bet to getting out of the business they were forced into.  Do you think they’d be happy you’re beating yourself up over this?”

          Roy slowly raised his head and met her eyes.  “I doubt it.  They’ve been told before by other customers they’d get them out, but they’re so smart, Aunt Chris.  They got my name and know I’m in the military.  And they both have amnesia.  I’m fairly certain they were taken right after the accident that cost the older brother his arm and leg.”  
          Chris was gazing at the bar with a look of disgust.  “They kidnapped kids who don’t know who they are and one of them is crippled?  I’m astounded this news escaped us.  This is exactly the type of thing we try to pick up on early and take care of it within the brothel system ourselves.”

          Roy looked as if he were expecting something scathing directed at him.  Chris took a drag on her cigarette and gave him a faint smile.  “I knew something was up as soon as you mentioned underage prostitutes, Roy.  When you said you’d spoken to one of them about burning the place down, I knew you’d been with them privately.  And if they’re any good at their job you’d had sex with them.  I take it they did all the work?”

          As Roy’s jaw dropped it occurred to him he should really stop being surprised by anything Chris Mustang said.  While his mind frantically tried to come up with a response the Madame continued.  “I didn’t raise you to rape children, Roy.  I raised you to have the utmost respect for sex workers and sometimes in situations like this that can rebound.  Because you cared about those boys you allowed them to handle you as they’d been taught.  And now you’ll help them get away from the bastards who kidnapped them and begin lives of their choosing.”

          Roy grabbed his highball and finished off the remaining scotch.  It took a couple of times clearing his throat before he was able to get out, “I thought you’d be disgusted with me.”

          The Madame took a sip of her own scotch.  “If you hadn’t tried to find a way to get them out I would have been.  As it is I say enjoy the sex for what it was and let me know what I can do to help.  My people will get you as much information as we can about how that particular brothel is run.”  She paused momentarily before asking, “Does the older brother have auto-mail?”

          Roy nodded hesitantly.  Chris smirked at him.  “Don’t you think you should alert your auto-mail mechanic that she’ll be needing to look over someone else’s auto-mail soon?”

          The Madame got up to go over to her employees and discuss the new investigation they’d be conducting.  Julia slid neatly into the vacating seat and slid another highball of scotch over to Roy.  “Looked like you needed it,” she observed.

          “You have no idea,” Roy breathed before taking the shot.  _With Aunt Chris helping this is going to go even faster than I’d originally planned.  I’ll brief Riza and the others in the morning and we’ll come up with a streamlined plan of engagement.  And I will get them out of that hell hole._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would be extremely helpful to get any type of criticism on this- both good and bad. Hopefully this will be heading in an interesting direction for all readers, but I'm making it up as I go so no end game in sight right now.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind the tags, because from here on out we're going to be dealing with underage prostitution. Also, since this is an AU of Brotherhood I'm taking some creative liberty. Ed got Al's body back at age 14, but lost a bit of his own physicality in order for Al's body to not be a total wreck. While they were trained by Izumi they don't remember any of it, so unless a life or death instance occurs don't expect any fancy moves from the boys.

**Fifteen months ago**

Al had managed to scrounge enough ragged blankets to make their burrow habitable against the cool Spring mornings and evenings.  The clothing he’d managed to cobble together for himself and Ed were far from adequate, but it kept him from being chased away by police for being indecently dressed.  It had only been a week since the brothers had found themselves naked and alone in a field surrounded by strange circular drawings.  Ed had been in a bad state.  It had taken another day for him to fully become aware of his surroundings so it had been up to Al to find somewhere they could hide from authorities until some idea of what happened came back to them. 

          Al had managed to snatch a few pieces of clothing from a clothesline not too far from where they’d awoken in the field.  Once he’d dressed and pulled the clothing on Ed, he’d guided his older brother toward the city he could see from the smoke stacks in the distance.  It had quickly become apparent that hiding was in their best interest unless they wanted to become part of the local orphanage.  Al had stashed Ed in a fairly clean alley with another vagrant resident before dashing off to find some sort of food.  The old woman he’d left Ed with had settled the elder with blankets wrapped around his torso and legs when Al returned breathlessly with the food he’d managed to procure.  Luck had been with him that day as he’d happened past a small cart selling dumplings.  The gentleman purchasing some had taken one look at him peering around the corner and asked the vender for two more orders.  The man had approached Al slowly with the food and gestured for him to take two of the bags.

          “But, why?” Al had asked.

          “Because you look as if you need them, whereas I was just a bit hungry,” was the answer he received.  “Go on now, and notice how people are looking at you.  Not all offers of food will come without a price.”

          Al thanked the man gratefully and ran off to share the dumplings with his brother and their new friend.

          Havoc had watched the youngster run off with a troubled face, but there were always homeless youth in cities.  He made a mental note to offer the boy lodging if he saw him again and headed back to the office.  Hawkeye had looked twitchy earlier and he didn’t want to test her patience.

~*~

          Once the food had been consumed Al began to gather what he thought they’d need to have their own space.  He asked Meg if she would mind them staying in the same alley if they were farther down.  The old woman looked at them both contemplatively before giving her answer.  “I’ve never wanted any others in my space before, but if you promise to give me some of your food then I’ll help guard your space while you’re away.”

          It had taken Al some work to get what they needed together, but that had been easier once Ed had come out of his stupor.  The two of them were too busy getting what they needed together to be frustrated by the emptiness in both their memories those first few days.  But as those first days passed and nothing was coming back to them, Al was realizing living on the streets wasn’t going to be an option for long.  Food was hard to come by and Ed was in pain on the days it rained or if there were large temperature changes. 

          The brothers were down visiting with Meg the first time the woman approached them.  Her hair was long and thick; its color was black with purple highlights.  She wore heels and a tight fitting dress with long gloves on both arms.  Silently the woman had stood at the entrance to the alley watching them for a few moments before slowly approaching Meg’s space.  Apparently the woman had some knowledge of vagrants as she stopped a respectful distance away before calling out to them.

          “It must be hard caring for a family in times like these.  Am I right, Grandmother?”

          Startled, all three of them turned toward the sound of the voice.  Meg grimaced before answering.  “They’re no family of mine, we just help each other out.”

          A small smile graced the woman’s face.  “I see.  Well then, I have an offer for the boys with you.  There’s a place I can take you where you won’t want for food, will have clean bedding and a roof over your head.  What do you say, boys?”

          Al pulled Ed back as he began to snarl at the woman.  “I say we need a day to think it over.  There’s always a price to things and you haven’t named yours.”

          As her eyebrows raised delicately, Lust realized these boys were smarter than average.  Which meant Greed would want to keep them instead of selling them to another brothel.  “Very well, you shall have your day to think about it.  Grandmother, will you tell them about the brothels so they know what the price is?”  Lust threw a smile at the old woman as she turned to walk back out the alley.  She would indeed be visiting them again tomorrow.  Greed would be very pleased with this gift if she could bring them in relatively unharmed.

          Ed glared at the woman until she was out of the alley.  Al had been watching Meg, who seemed troubled but at the same time accepting.  “Why did she call you grandmother, Meg?”

          A soft sigh came out of the old woman.  “Because in her way she was honoring me.  I used to work for her many years ago.  That woman, I don’t know what she is exactly, but she’s not human.  Her and her man, neither of them are.  They run a series of brothels and they go for the exotic.”

          Al sent a troubled look to his brother, who was still keeping an eye on the entrance of the alley as if he didn’t believe the woman was really gone.  “What is a brothel, Meg?  We…you know we’ve lost our memories.  If I ever knew what a brothel was, I don’t now.”

          Meg looked at both of them unhappily.  “A brothel is where people go to have sex they pay for, boys.  That woman is offering you food and shelter, but the price is your bodies.  And if you accept you’ll be given drugs to make your bodies want to have sex.  The other thing you need to know is that Lust and Greed don’t just let anyone go.”

          Meg lifted the blanket she habitually kept over her legs to show them the lack of a foot on her left leg.  “I wanted to leave, but they weren’t through with me yet.  So they took my foot as punishment and kept me for another ten years.  Some of their clients really liked having a prostitute with only one foot.  The choice is yours, I can’t make it for you.  But you will be well fed and Ed won’t be out in the open like he is now.”

          Al had gone quiet, but Ed turned to move closer to Meg.  “Will you be alright if we do go with her?  It must be hard for you to get what you need like that.”

          Meg smiled gently at him.  “That’s sweet of you, but no.  I’ve managed all these years on my own and will do fine that way again.  There’s a stick over there I use to get around and I know places to look for food.”

          Al raised his head and looked Meg in the eye.  “What would you do in our place?”

          Unhappily, she answered “I’d do what any young person with a pretty face would do.  I’d go with her.  Especially because you have no memory of how you came to be here.  But becoming a prostitute has a price, boys.  You can’t always have a life like a regular person when you’ve been a sex worker.  People never really accept you after that.”

          Ed raised his auto-mail arm.  “People don’t accept me the way I am now.  It doesn’t seem like it’d be any different except that we’d have a better chance of figuring out what happened to us.”

          Al took in a deep breath.  “Well then it seems we’ve decided.  Meg we’re going to leave you all our things when we go with her.  And we will make it out.  Count on it.”

~*~

          Lust sauntered down the hallway to the suite she and Greed were currently occupying.  Upon opening the door, she found Greed lounging in an opulent chair with the child he’d named Envy at his feet with its head in Greed’s lap.  Greed was running one of his hands through the child’s hair as if it were a pet, which was quite the analogy since Greed thought of Envy as a pet.  Lust frowned momentarily.  She’d never been on board with taking in the strange child, but when Greed had found what he called the perfect combination of woman and man it had seemed imprudent to fight him on it.  If Greed was fixated on a ten-year-old child being a perfect blend of male and female, there wasn’t much she could do about it.  At least the brothers she’d found in the alley with Meg were older.  She wouldn’t feel as badly about them having sex as she had when Envy had been initiated at eleven.

          Lust was started out of her musings by Greed noticing her leaning against the doorway.  “Ah you’ve returned.  Did you find anything interesting?”

          Envy quietly pulled away from Greed and made their way over to the small sunbed Greed had given them.  Lust had ceased trying to think of Envy as a he or she when the child had been repeatedly told by Greed that they were both.  As long as Envy was with them it didn’t really matter.  Greed had decreed they were both and both they would be.

          Lust approached and sat herself on Greed’s lap.  “I found something you’ll be interested in.  Do you remember Meg?  She was a favorite of yours and I quite liked her as well.  She’s living in town and has two young brothers with her.”  Lust lifted her right hand to scratch gently at the back of Greed’s neck.  “I’ve offered to come and bring them in tomorrow.  You’ll find them quite delectable.  They’re much smarter than most of the children we bring in and one of them has an auto-mail arm and leg.”

          Greed leaned into Lust’s hand and sighed.  “I do remember Meg.  It’s unfortunate that Gluttony got to her when she was trying to escape.  We took him to Pride for safe-keeping after that, didn’t we?”

          Lust’s fingers tightened fractionally before relaxing.  She still remembered the cries when Gluttony was taken away.  _I’m sorry, Lust!  I was just so hungry and she was leaving!  You said they weren’t to leave.  Please don’t let them take me, Lust!_

          “It might be time for a visit, don’t you think?  Gluttony was only doing what he thought we wanted, after all…”  She stroked her fingers through Greed’s hair and turned her face into his cheek so he wouldn’t see how upset she still was about having lost Gluttony.  It occurred to her Greed was being awfully pliable at the moment.  Pressing her luck, she purred, “You know, Meg is living on the streets in filth now.  And since she never acted badly again after the escape attempt perhaps we could offer her some assistance.”

          Greed pulled back with a look of dismay.  “I like variety, but I doubt I could get anyone to fuck her now, Lust.”

          Lust frowned back at him.  “No that’s not what I meant.  Perhaps those boys would be more inclined to become part of our operation if they thought we’d take care of Meg.  And it might be nice to visit with her occasionally, just to talk.”

          Greed seemed to think for a moment before nodding.  “Yes I think we have a small house available not far from here that would suit her.  And what would you think of having her fitted with auto-mail?  Perhaps using her health and well-being as an incentive will make those boys more amenable to our little family.”

          Lust showed her teeth in a smile.  “I think that will work nicely to keep them with us for as long as we want them.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head's up - found out in January that I've got skin cancer. Will be having surgery in May and last class is finishing in April, so don't expect updates until mid April at the earliest and maybe into Summer.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read so please point out any errors.

          Envy was silent during the discussion of the two brothers, but inside their mind was working furiously.  _Lust didn’t say how old they are, but I bet they’re not as old as Shailey.  I bet they’re still kids like me.  I don’t want any more kids initiated by Greed._   Envy kept their body still while they thought about solutions to this problem.  Now that Greed’s sights had been set on the brothers it would be difficult to get them out of the brothel at all, let alone keep them from being brought here in the first place.

          It became obvious Greed was in a very amenable mood at the moment.  Slowly, Envy thought about how they could help the two brothers.  Abruptly an idea came to them, one which they would never have entertained normally.  But this was not a normal circumstance.  Envy took a steadying breath before slowly and carefully crawling over the carpeting to the chair the other two occupied.

          “If the brothers come to the brothel I would like to train them,” Envy said quietly at Greed’s knee.

          “What was that, pet?”  Greed let a hand drop to pet and caress Envy’s long strands.  Envy took a breath to keep from tensing and asked their request in a louder voice.

          Lust and Greed were so surprised they both turned to address them fully.  Greed was frowning his surprise while Lust looked concerned.  This wasn’t normal behavior for Envy and they didn’t know what to make of it.

          “Why would you want to do that, Envy?” Lust genuinely wanted to know whereas Greed was mildly interested.

          Here was the tricky part.  They couldn’t just blurt out that they didn’t want any other kids having Greed be their first sexual experience.  Envy set their face in the pleasing pose Greed liked to see before stating “We’re the youngest one here.  It would be nice to have friends close to our own age and to help that friendship build it would help to have time for the brothers to adjust to the brothel.  If you give us permission to train them they will be better at pleasing you and the customers.  It can take time to get used to a brothel and this might help them feel safe.”

          Lust turned her head slightly away from Greed so he couldn’t see her expression as she realized Envy was trying to protect the children who weren’t even here yet.  This was also an opportunity to make it up to Envy, who she had not been able to help and had never really lost the guilt attached to that.  Carefully, she swallowed and schooled her face as Envy had.  Greed could never see their true feelings for him.  Greed must always think he was adored, and so these were the faces Envy and Lust showed him.

          Greed had been mulling over the proposal while Lust had quickly made up her mind.  She smiled at Envy in a way that had them giving her a puzzled look before she spoke.  “Envy’s request will work perfectly with giving Meg care and housing.  If we take the time to make the brothers feel safe they are much less likely to try to leave the brothel.  I approve of this request and additionally I think Shailey and Simon should be brought in to help when appropriate.  You do want the brothers trained for both male and female customers, yes?”  This was directed at Greed who was beginning to look more like this was a good idea as well.

          “Yes they will need to be trained for both.  But, before they are ready to take customers they must please me.  So if you want to take on this training Envy, you will need to prepare them for my satisfaction as well as the customers.”

          Envy had known they could not save the brothers from Greed’s attentions, but at least this way they might not be hurt as much.  Their first time with Greed had been a nasty affair both physically and emotionally.  Shailey had pleaded an illness to help them recover while Lust had kept Greed occupied for several days afterward.  If Envy could save any other kids from that then it would be worth it.

          Greed’s lips were pursed in thought as he thought of anything else he wanted to add to this agreement.  Lust quickly took advantage of the situation by asking Envy “Will a month be enough time for their successful training?”

          Cautiously Envy shook their head.  “We were given a year before Greed initiated us.  It would take a minimum of six weeks before we would feel confident presenting them to Greed.”

          Lust sucked in her bottom lip and determinedly kept her eyes on Envy while they both waited for his answer.  A month had been pushing it and asking for six weeks was almost guaranteed a negative response.  But she understood that Envy was simply trying to buy the brothers more time.  And she’d already committed to this, so all she could do was hope Greed would go for it.

          “Both of you think this is a good idea, and I want both of my favorites to be happy, so what the hell.  Envy, you will go to Lust for any problems in their training.  I will check in periodically during their training to see how these new recruits are doing, but I’m trusting you to train them properly.  After all, you both know what I like,” Greed finished with a leer. 

          Lust relaxed fractionally as Envy let Greed lift them up onto the side of his lap Lust wasn’t currently occupying.  It seemed this request was not going to require sex for completion.  Today had indeed been a good day.  Envy relaxed their body against Greed’s and sent Lust a grateful look.  She sent him a small smile in response.  Their pact now in place they both worked to keep Greed happy for the rest of the day.

~*~

          Meg, Ed, and Al were waiting for Lust when she approached them the next day.  Al squeezed Meg’s hand before standing to address the woman who would take them to a brothel.  “We have talked about it and Brother and I will take your offer.  But.  We need to know that you’ll leave Meg in peace and not bother her.”

          Ed turned to snarl at Lust, who was still standing a respectful distance away.  “Agreement or not, if we find out you’ve hurt Meg we’ll fuck up your brothel.  And we’re not agreeing to any set amount of time.  When we decide we’re done fucking people for you we leave.”

          Lust’s eyebrows rose as she realized these two were going to be quite the handful.  But with Envy’s help this might just work out for all involved.  She slowly moved closer to the small group before offering a very small smile.  “Actually, I was able to swing a deal with Greed to get Meg off the streets.  No strings attached.”

          Meg immediately looked as if she would argue, but Lust raised placating hands.  “No really, Greed was in a very amicable mood yesterday.  I was able to persuade him to put you in one of our homes by reminding him how much he’d liked you when you worked for us.  And he’s even going to fit you for auto-mail if you’d like.”

          Meg gawked at the standing woman for a moment.  “Greed never does anything for nothing.  What did you promise him for this?”

          Lust nodded to acknowledge Meg’s words.  “Well, it wasn’t me.  It was Envy, who you boys will meet later today.  Envy was brought to the brothel when they were ten.  Greed initiated Envy to sex when Envy turned eleven.  When they heard of two young brothers possibly coming to the brothel Envy offered to train them.  We were very lucky that Greed agreed to this as it will make your lives much more pleasant.  You should both remember that Envy put their neck on the line for you, and they haven’t even met you yet.”

          Meg had paled considerably hearing Envy’s story, while Ed and Al had frowned.  Ed glanced over at Al and gestured for him to ask the question that had bothered them both.

          “Why do you call Envy they?”

          Lust lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.  “A couple of years ago Greed brought this kid home with him.  Greed said the kid was both man and woman, and believe me, you don’t argue with Greed unless you want to get hurt.  So Envy is they.  And Envy is sticking out their neck for you, so if you get them hurt I’ll remember it,” she added with a small warning.

          Al looked interested at the conundrum of a child being both male and female while Ed shrugged and turned to Meg.  “Well, what do you think?”

          Meg gestured for Ed to help her stand.  She drew herself up and faced Lust.  “I will accept your offer on the condition that these boys will not be held accountable for any of the aid you offer me.  I know Greed.  His mood shifts and things happen accordingly.  They will not be part of this, Lust.”

          Lust stepped forward and solemnly shook Meg’s hand.  “I agree.  And I am sorry about your foot, Meg.  That was never meant to happen, it really was just an accident.  I still haven’t been able to get Gluttony back after he took your foot, but this will help you and give me someone to talk to every so often.  If you’ll have me as company?”

          Meg softened somewhat as she realized Lust had actually been lonely.  “I think tea every so often would be lovely.  Do you think the boys might be allowed to visit?”

          Lust eyed the brothers gathering up the small things they wanted to take with them.  “I daresay they might.  I may even bring Envy by if Greed will allow it.  This agreement is something different, Meg.  I hope it means things will be getting better.”

          Ed took one last look around the small encampment before nodding to Al.  “All done, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he muttered as he stalked toward the two women.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm contemplating how much of the "training" time to put in here. Any thoughts on that? Also, just to catch everyone up - My cancer surgery was successful. RL now consists of the normal stresses of caring for 3 kids and applying for teaching positions.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're getting into the darker stuff now. Underage prostitution has its own nasty reality that will be explored somewhat in this story. Here's your warning if you want to stop.

Lust observed the three odd seatmates in the back of the car.  Meg sat behind the driver with Al in the middle and Ed on the other side glaring out the window.  Meg and Al spoke quietly, and while Ed wasn’t taking part in the conversation, Lust could tell he was listening to them.  He would occasionally nod his head or frown while they were talking, and Lust could tell these two brothers were unusually close.  Close enough that they may not agree to working separately, she noted with a small frown.  While that might appeal to Greed, it may make it harder to market the two.  While continuing to observe the three Lust began planning on how to broach the subject of keeping the brothers together when she next spoke with Greed.

          The car pulled up at the rear entrance to the Brothel and stopped.  Meg tensed, but Lust sent her a reassuring look.  “Boys, you will be getting out here.  Say your goodbyes to Meg for now.  I give you my word you’ll see her again once your initial training is complete.  I’m going to go with Meg to where she’ll be staying from now on.  Later today you’ll see me again, but for now I suggest you go with Envy and whoever else they have with them.  They will make you as comfortable as possible while things are explained to you.”

          Al gave Meg a longer hug than Ed, but they were both oddly protective of the older woman.  Meg grabbed Al’s hand before he could walk away.  “Promise me you’ll be careful.  This isn’t an easy life you’re choosing and you both need to think before you do anything stupid.  I’d never forgive myself if I heard you were hurt trying to escape.”

          Al pulled Meg into another hug.  Lust watched in surprise as Ed came in on Meg’s other side and added to the embrace.  “I promise,” Ed told her softly.  “Nothing’s gonna happen to Al or me.  And we will get out.  But we need to remember some things first.”

          The brothers pulled away and gave each other a look before Al turned to smile at Meg.  “Brother and I will come visit you soon,” he added cheerfully before heading toward the door that had opened from the back of the brothel.

          Meg slowly made her way back into the car.  She turned a belligerent face to Lust before speaking sharply.  “I don’t care what else you do to me.  But you will leave those boys alone, or so help me I will find a way to hurt you and yours, Lust.”

          Lust gave her an oddly sympathetic look.  “I believe you.  I’m still working to try to get Gluttony back from the prison Greed sent him to for punishment after he detained you.  I know you don’t believe me, but I have no wish to hurt those boys.  In fact, I’m hoping the two of them find some way to make life in the brothel more bearable for the rest of us.  Envy and I will do the best we can to protect them, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they find a way to leave on their own terms.”

          After meeting Meg’s shocked look, Lust turned back to face the front of the car.  “Take us to the house,” she said to the driver before turning to contemplate the view out her window.  _There’s something about those brothers…I don’t know what it is, but for some reason they give me hope._

~*~

          Envy observed the two golden brothers hugging the old woman for a moment.  When they were obviously done, they opened the door so the brothers would come in the building.  Shailey had been standing next to them observing the two and she put a hand briefly around Envy’s shoulders.  “They love each other,” she stated quietly.

          “Yes and we both know Greed will use that against them,” Envy said.  “We’ll have to teach them how Greed is, because if they can’t adapt he will destroy them.”  Shailey gave Envy’s shoulders another brief squeeze before dropping her arm.

          “Well you’ve set up the way to teach them.  Now we just have to make sure they learn quickly.”

          Envy waited until the brothers had come into the entrance, then closed the door behind them.  Holding up a finger to motion silence, Envy beckoned them down a hallway.  The boys sent a quizzical look at Envy, but followed with Shailey coming up behind them.  Ed noticed they passed six doorways before Envy stopped in front of another one.  Pulling out a key, Envy unlocked the door and opened it.  Shailey motioned them in while Envy waited until they’d all gone in, then pulled the door closed behind them.  Locking the door with the key, Envy then turned to face them.

          “Shailey, what do you think,” Envy asked the pretty girl who’d come in with them.

          She had been circling the brothers, who were watching everything with raised eyebrows, taking them in from top to bottom.  “If we are actually given the six weeks Greed promised us, I think they’ll be a good draw.  They’re both attractive and young, but not young enough to turn off a good deal of the clientele.  Have either of you ever done work like this before?”

          Ed and Al shot each other helpless looks before Al answered the question.  “We don’t really know what we’ve done before.  Part of the reason we agreed to this is because we can’t remember anything about ourselves.”

          Envy let out a small huff of breath.  “First lesson is you don’t tell anyone else that information.  Greed will use anything he can against you as leverage.  How old are the two of you?”

          Al answered for the both of them.  “I’m 13 and Brother is 14.  We think.”

          Ed was gazing with narrowed eyes around the room.  He took in the bed, small cabinet next to the bed, and the lack of dresser before turning back to the others.  “I’m Ed and this is Al.  We were told we were going to have to have sex to pay for our food and boarding.  Even though we can’t remember anything, I’m pretty sure we’ve never had sex of any kind.”

          Envy nodded abruptly as that was what they’d been expecting.  “I was brought here by Greed when I was ten years old.  He’d heard a rumor there was a child in a small town a few hours from here who was strange.  When he went there and talked to the local doctor and found I had genitalia for both girl and boy, Greed decided he wanted me.  He killed my mother, kidnapped me, and brought me back here.  He had sex with me when I was eleven.  Shailey and I want to make sure that the two of you don’t have to go through what I went through.  But that means you’re going to have to learn things that will make you uncomfortable.  After today you’re not only going to be brothers, you’re going to be lovers.  You will both have sex with male and female clientele in this brothel.  Occasionally Greed will want you to put on a show for him, and no one ever knows what he’s going to want.  Tomorrow you start taking drugs that will make this easier, but I’m not going to lie.  It’s going to suck.  You’re going to have to act like everything’s okay when you’re around Greed.  There are three of us here you can be real with, but everyone else can’t know what you’re feeling.  Because Greed will use it against you.  He will own you if you let him, and you don’t want that.”

          At some point during this speech Al had dropped down onto the bed.  Ed quickly sat next to him and pulled him into a hug.  Shailey had moved to stand behind Envy, and as soon as they were done talking leaned down the hold them reassuringly.  She spoke from the vicinity of Envy’s shoulder.  “We’re not trying to scare you, but you need to know the best way to survive this place.  Greed isn’t human.  Lust will try to help the prostitutes occasionally, but mostly she’s out to help herself.  Envy, me, and Simon are the only ones you can be yourselves with, and I’d still be careful around Simon if I were you.  He’s an addict, so Greed will use him for information hunting among us, but Simon doesn’t enjoy hurting people.  He’ll help if he can.”

          They were all silent for some time, until Ed popped out.  “Look we didn’t know we were going to have to do that with each other.  But thanks for laying it out like you did.  Doesn’t sound like there’s a way to lay it out easily, so I’d rather have it all at once.  But you both need to know,” he glared at both Envy and Shailey.  “If anyone tries to hurt Al I’m gonna fuck them up.  Nobody hurts my brother.”

          Shailey’s jaw dropped at bit, but Envy grinned back at Ed.  “You’re going to need to reel that in, but I’ll do what I can to help.  I’ll make you a deal.  If you allow Greed to make you one of his special toys, between you, Lust, and me I think we can keep him from touching Al much.  But I’m warning you that Greed won’t be careful with you.  He’ll hurt you more often than not.”

          Al seemed to be in a bit of a shock while Ed cuddled him closer and stroked his hair a bit.  “I’m not sure why, but for some reason I think pain is something I’ve gotten very familiar with,” Ed said softly.  “What can we expect from here on out?”

          Envy pulled away from Shailey and walked over to one of the other two doors in the room.  They opened it and turned on the light switch illuminating a bathroom.  “The two of you are fortunate enough to have your own bath which features a shower and tub.  Food will be brought in for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and occasionally snacks when Greed is in a giving mood.”

          Walking to the other door, Envy pulled open an empty closet.  “When you begin seeing clients they may hang their clothing in here.  Occasionally Greed will see fit to offer you new clothing, but mostly you have what you came in with.  And it works better for you to have less clothing than more, so that’s what Greed usually sees to.”

          Shailey was leaning against the locked door.  “Envy shares a room with me when they are not wanted by Greed.  We have our own bathroom as well, but most are shared so keep in Greed’s good graces or you’ll be moved to another room.  This room will always remain locked while you are in your training period.  Once Greed is certain you won’t try to leave the door may sometimes be left unlocked.  If the door is unlocked you can walk freely through the prostitutes’ section of the brothel, but don’t enter Greed’s quarters unless he asks for you.  There are guards posted all over the place because Greed owns us and he doesn’t like losing his property.  Most of your training will take place in this room with me, Envy, and Simon.  Occasionally other prostitutes will be assigned to work with you.  You need to understand that we really have no control over any of this:  Greed is the one who decides everything.”

          Ed nodded and Al finally lifted his head to look at the other two.  He was solemn and quiet, but spoke loudly enough that the others could hear him.  “You didn’t have to tell us this, you could have just let us find out on our own.  I’m upset right now, but…thank you.  And Brother,” he turned to meet Ed’s eyes.  “You can’t protect me from this.  We both have to participate.”

          Ed narrowed his eyes.   “Not with Greed.  Envy said they’d help with that.  And you’re gonna have to let me deal with it.  I can’t do this if I can’t protect you, Al.”

          Al closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Ed’s.  “You can’t always protect me and you shouldn’t have to.  We’ll figure it out, but you have to let me protect you, too.”

          Envy didn’t know what to make of this as they’d never had siblings or close friends other than Shailey.  They shrugged and made their way over to Shailey.  “We’ll help, but seriously you two have to learn not to let as much show.  Dinner will be brought soon and then it’ll be lights out.  Shailey and I will come in first thing tomorrow morning to get you started.  We’ll do our best to keep you from meeting Greed until you can control yourselves better, but he’s going to want to meet you soon.”

          Envy turned their back to the brothers and walked out with Shailey.  Once the door had been locked Envy quickly looked to make sure no one else was there before quickly covering their face with both hands.  _I don’t know if I can do this!_ Envy thought frantically.  They felt Shailey pull them into a quick hug and whisper into the top of their head.  “We’re doing more for them than anyone else who’s ever been here.  You’re so brave for helping them at all!  Come one, let’s get back to our room.”

          Putting on the familiar mask, Envy let Shailey quickly walk them to their room.  Once inside they locked their door and collapsed, shivering on the bed.  Shailey spooned up behind them and held Envy while quiet sobs shook their small body.  “I know you don’t want to see any more kids here,” Shailey said quietly.  “But they’re going to be stronger than us.  They’re going to be able to get away from here.  I don’t know how I know that, but they will.  We just have to take it one day at a time.  And wear our game faces in the hallways.”

          Envy nodded and turned to press their face against Shailey’s collar bone.  “I hated it,” Envy whispered.  “I hated telling them all of it.”

          Shailey nodded and stroked down Envy’s hair.  “I know.  Just rest, we’ll have to see Greed tomorrow and give a report.”

          Envy nodded and made themselves relax.  _Rest now so I can deal with the monster later._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated and please feel free to point out any typos. Next chapter will introduce drugs into the mix, so if that's triggering for you please be aware.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some very basic research on historical aphrodisiacs which resulted in coming up with a random thing to use in this. Most of the stuff used historically was herbal or a mixture of other animals' body parts. I'll include a link at the end of the chapter if anyone is super interested in that.
> 
> Also, Envy is intersex in this 'verse. I'm also going to include a link at the end of the chapter for the Intersex Society of North America, but my beginning basic research for this 'verse found some historical picture of what doctors termed hermaphrodites. It seems to me these folks were intersex and doctors just didn't know what to do with them. Most of the cases I found were from folks with very low socio economic status and the docs took pictures of them in exchange for medical treatment. 
> 
> If any of this weirds you out, there's only going to be more in the chapters to follow.

Lust had briefly checked on the brothers after dinner the night before, mainly because she’d told them she’d see them later that day.  Greed had, of course, wanted to know what they were doing.  She’d had her hands full keeping him from stalking down to their room that first night, but had gotten a promise to give them some time before meeting him. 

          Just before sunlight began to show through the curtains in Greed’s room, Lust had quietly gotten up and gone into the kitchen.  The staff was busy mixing up the prostitutes’ aphrodisiac concoctions and she wanted to make sure the brothers weren’t given too much.  Envy had apparently had the same concern as she found them already there talking to Conrad. 

          Envy spotted her entrance and shot her a look of relief.  “Lust, can you please explain to Conrad that if the new guys are too stoned they won’t learn anything?”

          With a small frown, Lust looked at the man who had whipped up the special blend of herbs and street drugs their prostitutes depended on.  As far as they knew the drugs weren’t addictive, but they did help the prostitutes do their job around customers who would normally make them run in the other direction.  No matter how long you were in this business you ran into customers you just didn’t want to fuck.

          “How much are you planning to give them, Conrad?”

          “Everyone else gets two teaspoons, I don’t know why these two would be any different,” grumbled Conrad.

          Envy glared at the man they all depended on.  “That’s not true.  There are times when doses are increased or decreased depending on the person and the situation they’re in.  I only take two teaspoons when Greed calls for me,” they added softly.

          Conrad scoffed.  “You only take the drugs when you’re sent to Greed.  Everyone else gets two teaspoons every morning, then they come get more if they need it.”

          Lust tapped a finger to her mouth.  Two teaspoons of the stuff made Envy so malleable they would do anything Greed wanted.  This wouldn’t work well in teaching the new recruits sex work.  “Why don’t we try one teaspoon to begin with and see how they do,” she suggested.  “Envy is correct, they need to be coherent enough to learn and they won’t do that if they’re stoned out of their minds.”

          Conrad huffed an annoyed breath.  “Fine.  Envy, you’re going to be working with them, right?  Let me know if you want an increase or a decrease on their drugs in the mornings.  Otherwise we’ll just set them at one teaspoon.”

          Envy nodded in acknowledgment.  “I’ll take them their drugs this morning.  Do you know what breakfast is going to be today?”

          Conrad shrugged indifferently.  “Gotta go ask Sylvia that, she makes the food.  I just come in to mix the drugs, you know that.”

          Conrad turned this back to mix up the appropriate amounts and Lust approached Envy.  Warily they watched her, but Lust only gave them a small smile and squeezed their shoulder slightly.  “It’s very kind of you to watch out for them,” she said quietly enough that Conrad wouldn’t hear.

          Envy swallowed a startled breath before scowling slightly.  “We both know what happens if they can’t be taught properly.  I’m only looking out of myself.”

          “Hmmm,” was the reply while Lust gave them knowing eyes.  “Make sure they take the drugs, Envy.  I’ll come see them this afternoon.”

          Conrad turned to give Envy two small paper cups of liquid.  “Here go take these to the new recruits.”

          Nodding at Conrad, Envy took the drugs and started off down the hallway to the brothers’ room.  _Hopefully this will be just enough to mellow them out for their training.  While keeping them stoned might be easier on them now, if they don’t learn their jobs it’ll be worse for them.  And Ed’s going to need more training than Al if he wants to keep Greed off his brother._

~*~

          The brothers had rather indifferently taken the drugs Envy had delivered to them.  They’d discussed it the night before and figured at this point the drugs were inevitable.  At some point in the future they may find a way to get around them, but for now they had to take them.

          When Envy showed up with breakfast roughly an hour later Al met him at the door.  Al’s eyes were dilated and he was blinking quite a bit, but he appeared distressed which didn’t usually happen with these drugs.

          “Brother’s not acting right,” Al muttered.  “I feel funny, but Brother’s…”

          Envy frowned and placed the tray of food down on the end table.  They walked over to where Ed was laying quietly on the bed and just breathing.  Climbing up onto the bed, Envy got into Ed’s face to look at his eyes.  Ed only blinked back at them, which was very much not like the Ed they’d known since yesterday.

          “Shit,” Envy ground out.  “It must be the auto-mail.  We’re gonna have to cut down on his amount or he won’t be able to learn anything.”

          Al was back up on the bed behind Ed hovering worriedly.  “What’s wrong with him?”

          Sighing in frustration, Envy sat back and put their head in their hands.  “I had them mix up a lighter dose of the drugs for you guys so this wouldn’t happen.  His lighter body mass made it hit him harder, I guess.  Your brother’s so stoned right now he probably won’t be able to eat.”

          Al ran a concerned hand down Ed’s arm.  “But he’ll be alright?”

          Another long breath in frustration.  “Yes, he’ll be back to normal in a few hours.  Hey, when was the last time you two had a bath?”

          Al frowned in confusion.  “I don’t know?  Not since we woke up in that field…”

          Envy thought for a minute.  “Okay here’s what we’re going to go.  You need to try to eat something and I’m going to go get some stuff for you two to take a bath with.”  They stopped and looked over at Ed again.  “Well I guess all of us.  You won’t be able to hold him up in the water like this.  I’ll be back with bath stuff, but you need to eat Al.  And see if you can get him to eat a few bites of something.  Maybe if you feed it to him?”

          Al nodded, then frowned.  “Am I supposed to be feeling all tingly?”

          Envy thought about that.  “The drugs are supposed to make you feel relaxed and not mind being touched.  Some people here say the drugs make them horny.”

          Al stared at Envy blankly.  “Right, you don’t know what that means,” Envy muttered.  “The drugs are supposed to make you want to touch other people all over,” They finally said.

          “Oh.  Well I guess they did do that.  But, I love touching people anyway, as long as they don’t mind,” Al said contemplatively.

          “I don’t know what happened to the two of you, but you might change your mind about that after you’ve been here long enough,” Envy mumbled.  “Okay, you try to eat and I’ll be back.”

          Envy ran through a list of all the items they’d need to help bathe the brothers as they locked the door behind them.  On the other side of the door they heard Al quietly telling Ed, “Brother, just try a little bite of this.”

          Envy clenched their hands together.  _I’ve got to teach them not to act so much like they love each other.  Greed will use that against them._ Turning to walk down the hallway, Envy kept their face blank.  _I wonder if they can teach me what it’s like to love._

~*~

          When Envy returned with the bathing supplies, Al had Ed propped up and was taking turns feeding them both.  Envy took everything into the bathroom before walking back out to the bed.  “How much did you get him to eat?”

          “He ate a little bit, but he’s still not talking or anything,” Al said.

          “Not surprising.  Did you eat?”  Envy glanced at the younger sibling, who nodded.

          “I ate what I could.  It’s hard to eat when I’m worried about Brother,” Al added with a concerned look at Ed.

          “Well, time to get clean.  Give me the dishes,” Al and Envy got everything put back onto the tray.  Envy immediately began taking off their clothes and Al’s mouth dropped in shock.

          “What are you…?”

          Envy stopped and looked over at Al.  “I keep forgetting you two aren’t used to this.  Prostitutes work mostly naked, you do know that?”

          Ed made some sort of noise while Al just gaped.  “But…I don’t think we’ve ever just taken our clothes off in front of other people before!”

          Envy’s shoulders slumped.  “Okay.  First rule of the brothel is you get used to being naked a lot.  Second rule of the brothel is you don’t freak out when other people take their clothes off.  This is part of your job now.  If you like having food and a bedroom all to yourselves, you’ve got to get used to this.  Understand?”

          Swallowing, Al nodded.  Ed made a confused noise and tried to move his head, but Al petted his arm.  “I’ll get Brother undressed.  Will you help me get him to the bathroom?”

          Envy nodded.  Then waited while Al got their clothes off.  _I think I’ll let Al keep the boxers and Ed can have a button up shirt.  That’ll keep Ed from getting as pissed as long as Al’s bits are covered.  I don’t think Ed will mind as much as Al about the clothes._

          Envy grabbed Ed’s left side and Al grabbed his right and between the two of them, they managed to get all three into the bathroom.  Al sat Ed on the toilet and steadied him while Envy began running the taps.  The bathroom had an unusually large tub and Al had no idea why.  He figured it would be explained at some point just as everything else was.

          When Envy stood back up Al couldn’t help glancing at the younger child.  Puzzled, he glanced back at Envy’s face.  “I thought you said Greed said you were a hermaphrodite.”

          Envy frowned.  “Greed says I’m both male and female, why?”

          Al met Envy’s eyes, before glancing back down.  “But, you don’t have a scrotum.  Men have a scrotum, we saw it in every picture…”  Al grabbed his head as pain sliced through him.

          Envy was just able to grab Ed and keep him from falling off the toilet.  Al was breathing fast, but slowly letting go of his head.

          “How would you know that,” Envy whispered.  “If you’ve never done this type of work how would you know that males have that?”

          “I don’t remember,” Al whispered back.  “But we did look at pictures, lots of them, and men always had a scrotum.”

          Envy took a deep breath in and out.  “Well Greed says I have a penis and a vagina and I’m not going to argue with him.  But he’s never pointed out the other.”

          Al breathed slowly as if his head still hurt.  “I think what you actually have is an enlarged clitoris that Greed thinks looks like a penis.  But there’s no way to tell if you have male or female anatomy on the inside.  If it makes a difference to you,” he added slowly.

          Envy briefly considered if it did make a difference to them.  “While I’m here, I’m whatever Greed says I am,” they answered.  “And now we need to get the two of you clean.  Both of you could use a hair wash.”

          Gingerly, Al stepped into the tub.  He balanced on his knees then held out his arms for his brother.  Slowly, Envy handed Ed over, then climbed in behind him.  “I’ll hang onto Ed while you wash, then you can wash him, okay?”

          Al looked at Envy for a long moment, then nodded.  Keeping his eyes on his brother, Al began washing.  All the while he was puzzling this new bit of information.  _How **did** I know the difference?  Envy’s right, that’s some very distinct knowledge to have about the human body._  Al thought about this the entire time he washed himself.  But when it came time to wash Ed, he focused completely on cleaning his brother.  Who was still not able to move well on his own.

 

[Historical Aphrodisiacs](http://gizmodo.com/a-brief-history-of-aphrodisiacs-1497774024)

 

[History of intersex movement](http://www.isna.org/faq/history)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please point out any typos and comments are appreciated.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't very happy with the way this chapter turned out. I'm going to be reworking it this weekend (and probably into next week) because my original idea was to have this bit in the present be one chapter. I cut it short originally because it was already longer than most of the chapters in PTM, but it just didn't flow right that way. So....when this is all finished and updated it's going to be a really long chapter with smut.

Roy’s team had just heard back from the Investigations division that a joint raid would take place on local brothels in one week.  Teams were being put together and Roy wanted to make sure a member of his personal team was on each one.  He wanted to be on the team that went to the brothel with Ed and Al, but he was faced with a quandary.  There was no guarantee that the brothers were the only underage sex workers at that establishment, and Roy wasn’t certain they’d get everyone out if someone didn’t go in and give Ed and Al warning about the raid.

          Roy worried about it all day long, which required Riza to give him even more pointed looks than normal to get his paperwork completed.  By the time he’d gotten home Roy was exhausted.  Putting the bag of takeout on the kitchen table, he turned back into the hallway and picked up the telephone.  Sliding into an exhausted heap beside the telephone stand, he dialed the number to Madame Christmas’ office.

          The line rang twice before an irritable voice answered.  “This better be good,” his aunt snarled at him through the phone.

          Roy allowed himself a small smile.  “Aunt Chris, it always amazes me that you do such good business when you answer your office phone that way.”

          The smile in her voice could almost be heard through the line as she snorted.  “Roy boy, you know the people who call me don’t care how rude I am when my brothel offers the best fantasy in town.  Now, why are you calling me on this line?”

          At this the smile slid off his face.  Roy sighed wearily, then said “I need your advice Aunt Chris.  We’re going to be conducting multiple raids on brothels the Office of Investigations thinks may be holding underage sex workers in a week.  Do you think someone should go in and warn the brothers I found or do you think we’d get everyone out regardless?”

          Chris Mustang leaned back in her office chair and frowned at the wall as she thought about his question.  She knew why Roy was asking this question, and she also knew he’d put hours of thought into it before consulting her.  Finally, she huffed in annoyance.  “Roy I’d love to be able to tell you the raid would work by itself, but I know how sneaky some of these bastards are.  If someone doesn’t go in and tell them, there’s a damn good chance they’ll hide the kids as the raid’s happening.  Especially if there’s more than just the two you saw.  There are some sick people who will pay large amounts to be able to have sex with children.  Because of this if a brothel is catering to that crowd they’ll have ways to protect their investment.”

           Roy leaned his head back against the wall.  “So, you’re saying the only viable way to get all the kids out of this particular brothel is to send someone in and alert them.”

          Chris pulled a cigar out of one of the drawers of her desk.  Lighting it, she nodded.  “Yes, and you and I both know what that means.  It’s going to have to be someone those boys know, which means it’s going to have to be you.”

          Roy swallowed and closed his eyes.  “You know I’ll do whatever it takes to get them out of there, but if I go back in…”

          Chris regarded her cigar before sighing down the line.  “When you go back in they’ll be expected to have sex with you again.  Yes, Roy, I understand completely why you didn’t want to do this.  Maybe more than anyone else would.  But if you really want to get them out, this **is** what has to be done.  They wouldn’t trust anyone else, and they’d still have to have sex with them.”

          Roy lightly smacked the back of his head against the wall behind him.  “How do I live with this, Aunt Chris?”

          Scowling, Chris glared at the wall across from her.  She took a deep breath before saying lowly into the phone, “You’re doing what you have to do to get those kids out of being forced to have sex with strangers every day.  Don’t you dare blame yourself for what they’re already being forced to do.  Rehabbing them is going to be a different story, but right now none of you has a choice.  You live with it just as you have with every military campaign.”

          Laughing weakly, Roy said “Yes, because that’s worked out so well.”

          Closing her eyes, Chris cursed herself for briefly forgetting Maes Hughes.  “Maes would want you to get them out, Roy.  And I’m going to go ahead and offer any of the kids you get out of that brothel a place to stay here until they’re ready to go out into the real world.  They can’t stay with you, Roy.  I can offer them protection and a sense of safety here that you can’t offer them at your place.  Besides, they’re going to need some time before they can be around anyone they knew in the brothel,” she added gently.

          Roy closed his eyes and nodded.  _Of course, she was right.  The brothers would feel obligated to offer themselves if he suggested they stay with him.  He hadn’t even thought…but this was something Aunt Chris had dealt with before._  

          Clearing his throat, Roy said quietly, “Thank you, Aunt Chris.”

          “You’re welcome.  You’ll need to have your mechanic check the older one out after he’s been here about a week.  And Roy?”

          “Yes, Aunt Chris?”

          “I love you.  Don’t forget that.”

          Roy leaned his head against the telephone stand.  “I love you too,” he said softly before hanging up.

~*~

          The next day Roy woke up early and took extra care with his morning routine.  He confidently walked into the office and told Riza he’d be leaving early for an afternoon appointment.  She gave him raised eyebrows, then narrowed eyes, as this appointment wasn’t in the book, but nodded slowly in acquiescence. 

          Taking a walk for lunch, Roy stopped by a telephone booth to call the brothel and book time with the two golden brothers for that afternoon.  Without batting an eye at the inordinate fee (Aunt Chris had warned him, after all) Roy agreed to the price quoted him.

          Upon returning to the office, Roy applied himself to get as many forms signed as possible.  Which ended up earning him a worried look from Riza, since this was out of the ordinary.  He smiled at her reassuringly, continuing to work until thirty minutes before his appointment.

          Rapidly signing the last form, Roy piled all his signed paperwork into a neat stack, which he placed on Riza’s desk before donning his uniform jacket and bidding the office good afternoon.

          Riza stared after him suspiciously, while Havok and Breda side-eyed each other.  Finally, Breda turned to ask Riza, “Did you blackmail him to get all that paperwork done?”

          “No, I didn’t,” Riza answered with a frown.  She sat quietly thinking for a few minutes before picking up the phone.

          “Hello, Madame Christmas, I was hoping you knew what Roy was up to and if I should be concerned,” Riza said into the receiver.

          She listened for a few moments before slowly nodding.  “Thank you, I appreciate that,” she said before hanging up the phone.

          “Is Colonel Mustang alright?” Fuery asked hesitantly.

          “Yes, I think he is,” Riza answered.  “Although she wouldn’t tell me what this appointment is, she said it was one he had to keep.  She also told me not to worry about him as he’d be back to his normal self soon.”

          Shrugging, Havoc looked at the new piles he had to sort.  “It’s kind of a good thing the Colonel doesn’t always get paperwork done.  If he did this all the time, we’d never get a break.”

          Riza smiled before turning away to begin sorting out the forms Roy would be handed tomorrow morning.

~*~

          Time felt as if it had stopped momentarily for Roy as he stepped back into the room where he’d met Ed and Al.  They were both on the bed wearing the same clothes they’d been wearing the last time he’d seen them.  The same man who’s shown him into the room last time had grinned unabashedly at him before showing him in again this time.  The main difference this time seemed to be both the recognition and the awareness in Al’s eyes as he regarded Roy.

          Roy said nothing until he heard the footsteps in the hallway signaling the man who had let him in leaving.  He said nothing as he sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath.  Roy sat silently until Al crawled over to him and put a hand on his face.

          “We weren’t sure if we’d see you again, Roy,” Al spoke quietly.  He seemed much more aware of his surroundings, and even put a cautious finger to his lips to indicate Roy should speak quietly, as well.

          Roy nodded in acknowledgement before quietly answering.  “I wasn’t planning to come back until it was time to get you out, but in speaking with someone who is an authority on brothels, it became essential I come back to see both of you.”  He turned to include Ed and noticed the older boy had the same spaced out look Al had worn last time.  “There will be a raid on this brothel in six days.  If there are any other underage people here, you need to make sure they’re not hidden away.  We’re going to conduct simultaneous raids all over the city, but it won’t do any good if we can’t get all the underage kids out.”

          Ed slowly nodded to show he’d understood what Roy had said while Al chewed on his bottom lip.  “It’s going to be difficult to get Envy away from Greed,” Al almost whispered. 

          Roy frowned, but Ed was shaking his head with a small smile.  “Lemme talk to Lust,” he whispered.  “She told me awhile back that if there was ever a chance to get Envy out with us she wanted in on it.”

          Al gave his sibling wide eyes, but Ed just shook his head again.  “It’s a guilt thing.  I dunno why, but she feels responsible for Envy being here.  So, we’ll get Envy out, too.”

          Roy sighed softly.  “If you can arrange for this other person to be in plain sight I’ll make sure they get taken out of here.  I need you both to know,” he looked away momentarily before meeting each of their eyes again.  “I don’t want either of you to feel obligated to have sex with me.  I just paid for the time with you to warn you.”

          Al was smiling softly at him while Ed just gave him a look that clearly said he was out of his mind.  “Does it bother you because we’re both so young?” Al asked quietly.

          Roy blinked at him a few times.  “Yes, of course it does.  I’ve never wanted to sleep with children…”

          Al had placed a hand on his shoulder and he gazed dazedly at it.  “Brother was 14 and I was 13 the first time we had sex, Roy.  Nothing you do now is going to change that.”

          Roy swallowed as Ed drily pointed out, “Besides, if there’s not a used condom in that bathroom trash bin after our clients leave, Greed thinks we’re not doing our job.  And not doing our job gets us in trouble.  We learned pretty early on to always leave a used condom where they can find it.”

          “So, it’s really up to you, Roy.  If you don’t find us attractive, Brother and I will just have to find another way to make sure that condom gets put in the trash.”  Al gave him an impish smile as he moved to begin unbuttoning Roy’s overcoat. 

          Roy looked back and forth between the two of them.  “What if I just leave it up to the two of you?  What would you do if you could do whatever you wanted with me?”

          Ed leaned forward with a wicked grin.  “Oh, you don’t want to offer that.  Al’s been talking about you since the last time you were here.  I think he might even have a bit of a crush,” he said teasingly, but still in the soft whispers they’d been using the entire time.

          Al’s face was a particularly bright shade, but he shook his head determinedly.  “That’s not how this works, Roy.  You paid a fee for us and that means you get to choose what you want.”

          Roy grabbed the nimble fingers that had already unbuttoned his coat and were beginning to work on his shirt.  He held them pointedly until the younger boy’s eyes met his own.  “What I want is to get both of you the fuck out of here so you don’t have to do this anymore,” he stated.  “And since I can’t offer you anything else right now, I’m telling both of you to decide how this is going to work.  You said the rule is a used condom in the trash – that leaves much open to interpretation.”

          Al sat back on his own legs in shock while Ed sidled closer in interest.  “Are you serious?” the older boy asked bluntly.

          Roy turned to meet Ed’s gaze.  “Yes,” he whispered. 

          “How much time did you buy?” Ed demanded while Al seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

          Roy met the golden gaze even though he was quaking inside.  “I bought the same amount of time as last time – ninety minutes.”

          Ed gave him a considering gaze before turning to look at his younger brother.  “Well you’re the one that liked him so much last time.  What do you want to do?”

          Al leveled a serious gaze on Roy.  “What happens to us once we leave this place?  You must have a plan if you’ve already put simultaneous raids together.”

          Roy gazed back just as seriously, feeling as if these two boys had more power over him than he’d ever had in the military.  “You’ll go to a hospital for about a week to get the drugs out of your systems and get healthy.  After that you’ll go stay with my Aunt, who owns a reputable brothel and has offered you a place to stay until you’re ready to move out on your own.”

          Al’s head had tilted to the side and that gaze had sharpened on him.  “So, you’re saying that after tonight we won’t see you for some time.  And when we do it will be on different terms.”

          Ed had settled himself back to observe whatever this was while Roy was beginning to feel as if he were standing on the edge of a very steep cliff.  “Well, yes,” Roy answered uncertainly, because he really had no idea where the beautiful blond boy was going with this.

          “And you’ve already told us that outside of this place people look down on sex with kids, even though we were taught to have sex in a brothel, which is a socially acceptable business.”

          That cliff was only getting deeper the further this conversation went.  “I…yes?” Roy asked because he wasn’t sure how to answer that sentence.

          Al appeared to be quite perturbed, which Roy didn’t think was helping the current situation, but Ed seemed to find is hilarious.  “Well, then,” Al said lightly as he resumed unbuttoning Roy’s shirt.  “If you’re serious about letting us do whatever we want with you, then I want you to fuck Brother, because it’s been a very long time since he’s had a good client and after that I want to fuck you.  Because I really like your body, Roy.  And if we won’t get to see you again for years with no possibility of sex, I’d really like you to remember us.”

          Ed grinned cheekily as Roy gaped at the two of them.  “I did warn you not to offer that,” the older brother chuckled as Roy swallowed. 

          Roy had to clear his throat before he could answer.  “Forgetting the two of you isn’t an option.  And if that’s what you really want,” he turned uncertain eyes to Al, who was clearly in charge of this operation.  “The answer is yes.  But while we’re not having sex, can you tell me how this brothel is run?  I’ll need as much information as possible to make sure the raids run smoothly.”

          “Of course, we can,” Ed answered snarkily while taking off his shirt.  Right now, you need to work on getting those clothes off, because if we time this just right, we can fuck and get a bath in before your time’s up.  And trust me, you’re going to want a bath.”

          “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it, Roy,” Al asked with a smug sort of smile that had no place on his face.  Roy realized he’d handed himself lock and key to these two not at all innocent boys without thinking it through.  And part of him was relieved they were going to take him at his word and use him.  This was, after all, the only place he’d been able to let go of his self-control in years.

          “Yes, it has,” he whispered back.  “It’s been a lifetime.”  Al leaned down to kiss him as Ed scrambled down to work on Roy’s boots and pants. 

          Panting, Al sat back up and smiled serenely.  “Don’t feel sorry for us, Roy.  In our own ways, we like sex.  We don’t always like that we have to have sex with everyone who comes through that door, but you’re going to change all that.  And if we do this right, you’ll want us to come find you when we’re old enough to do this legally.”

          Ed turned to give his sibling an exasperated look.  “Al, we’re on the clock here.  Less talking and more getting him ready for my ass.  If this all plays out we can talk him to death for years, but we won’t be able to fuck him again until you’re seventeen.”

          Al sent a mischievous glance at Roy as he leaned over him to get the necessary supplies from the nightstand.  “What do you think, Roy?  Will you want to see us again in three years?”

          Roy banged his head helplessly against the pillow Al had tucked under his head.  “Two beautiful young blond things want to fuck me and are essentially promising to come and find me again when they’re legal.  Clearly, I have died and gone to heaven,” he murmured before turning his head to see Ed regarding him. 

          The older boy was naked.  He had significant scaring around his auto-mail arm and leg and was watching him warily.  “You think I’m beautiful?” Ed asked quietly.

          Roy reached out a hand to pull through that rich fall of golden hair.  “How could anyone not?” he asked.

          Al crawled over Roy to snuggle up against his brother momentarily.  “We’ve had clients who screamed at Brother when he took his shirt off.”

          Ed snuggled back up to Al while watching Roy closely.  “Most of the time I just leave the shirt on,” he said quietly.  “But I thought since you had auto-mail too you might not mind.”

          Roy felt the change in his heart.  He knew just how fucked he was as he acknowledged the familiar feeling Maes had invoked now belonging to the two brothers in front of him. 

          Roy looked at each of them before saying, “You are both the most beautiful creatures I have ever had the privilege of getting naked with.  And I will wait for you as long as you both want me to.”

          Ed blinked at him while Al slowly grinned.  “Well you picked a good one, Al.  I think he’s got a crush on you, too.”

          “Us, Brother.  He likes both of us,” Al said quietly as Ed slowly moved forward to kiss Roy.  _He’ll wait for us, just like he said.  And eventually, we can make a life together.  One the three of us choose._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a nice little segue into Roy getting the boys out and in turned into...whatever the hell this chapter is. I think the smut will be one long chapter and then back to the past, but who the hell knows. I sure wasn't expecting Al to orchestrate this. Anyhoo, please point out any typos and thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from the Tori Amos song. Please don't send me comments asking when I'm going to update. I will update if and when I have the time as I'm raising 3 kiddos and have multiple WIPs in different fandoms. Any kudos or other comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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